Video of Elizabeth May at the University of Guelph, April 10, 2011

As promised in my previous blog entry, here's the video of (Green Party Leader) Elizabeth May on her campaign stop in Guelph. Regardless of your political persuasion and/or ideological bent, Elizabeth's message is something that has to be listened to. She espouses a "what's-not-to-like" platform, and she speaks from the  heart, with unadulterated altruistic intentions!

If you value our uniquely Canadian democratic tradition, regardless as to whether you have already made up your mind as to whom to vote, and especially if the current status quo has turned you off the political conversation, this video is a must-watch!
(And if you're not Canadian, you should be jealous of our Canadian electoral system that allows almost everyone to run for office... and not just the millionaires beholden to special interest groups!)

Click here for youtube link for full 1280x750 viewing

Elizabeth May in Guelph, VideoDSLR, and YouTube.

With the encouragement of my son, I went to see (Green Party Leader) Elizabeth May on the University of Guelph campus as she swings by on a campaign stop. I knew Ms. May as being an intelligent, honest, and trustworthy person with a "what's-not-to-like" political platform. I wasn't prepared to be enchanted by her personality and her message!

As a newbie to the world of video DSLRs, I take every available opportunity to practice my video/stills craft; on this day, I used my Canon 60D with a Tamron 17-50f2.8, Azden shotgun mike, on a Manfrotto monopod. In hindsight, I should have brought the windsock for the shotgun mike (mini gusts of wind translates into mini thunder rolls). I'm also curious how my Zoom H4N would work in place of the shotgun mike.

I was able to record Ms. May's speech (12+ minutes), as well as local Green Party candidate John Lawson's speech. As a bonus, I was able to record  Izzy Hirji's  recounting of his being banned from a Harper rally in Guelph, a few days ago (I will post both Lawson's and Hirji's once I get their permisssion).

I am so impressed with Ms. May's message to Canadians that I feel I have to relay it to every Canadian who cares about our democracy and our future. I edited my footage, opened an account on YouTube, and the file is being uploaded as I type this blog entry (it's now 1:15 am, I really should be in bed; I have to go to work in a few hours). I will post the link on my next blog entry!

The video work needs a lot of improvement but Ms. May's  message is perfect! It is so much worth listening to, regardless of one's political persuasion.

iPhone Diaries #353: "Frier T(r)uck"

Front Street, Toronto. April 7th.

iPhone Diaries #352: "Rainy Sunday"

On a warm, grey, drizzly spring Sunday, what better thing is there to do than to start baking bread...

... water and dry yeast to start the  poolish ...

whole wheat and unbleached white flour to make up the poolish...

for an artisanal loaf with only 4 ingredients:

water, yeast, flour, salt!

2011 Federal Election Results: A Prediction

Going with my intuitive gut feeling, with an insight gleaned from reading the papers and bloggers, here are  my predictions, which goes against the polls as they stand today.

Voter turnout will be much higher than expected, approaching a  record high ,  in  large part due to high voter turnout in the 18-25 age category.  The Liberals will win the most number of seats but will still be a minority government. Liberals will gain more seats in Quebec (at the expense of the Bloc). Indicative of the Conservative decline is a Green Party win in Saanich-Gulf Islands by Elizabeth May.

The issue of ethics and trustworthiness will be pivotal in encouraging people who otherwise would not have voted, to come out and vote, to the detriment of Stephen Harper, who will be seen as the worst of two evils, i.e., not as trustworthy as Michael Ignatieff.

After all, Canadians are not apathetic; once fired up by the an issue (trust), watch out! This also illustrates that polling is an inexact science and that Yogi Berra's most famous truism, "it ain't over til its over", once again holds true, for a grateful Ignatieff.
You heard it here first!

Just saying.